My Town

Letters from Los Gatos Weekly-Times readers

From Los Gatos Weekly-Times readers

Posted:
12/09/2013 07:33:20 PM PST

Updated:
12/09/2013 07:33:21 PM PST

Town leaf blower blows on Spare the Air day

At 7 a.m. one morning last week (during a Spare the Air day), I happened to be walking through the Los Gatos Library parking lot toward downtown and came across the town's lawn maintenance contractor blowing the leaves off of the parking lot.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing! I'm not a fan of gas leaf blowers. According to the CA Air Resources Board, in one hour they put out as much pollution as a car does driving 100 miles. I strongly believe that they should be banned completely.

It's unforgivable that our town doesn't "walk the walk" when it comes to being ecologically responsible. Allowing the contractor to use a gas blower on a Spare the Air day is not alright! If Los Gatos doesn't ban these blowers completely (which San Jose is about to do), then at the very least rules should be put in place regarding when their use is acceptable.

I understand that our newly elected mayor, Steve Leonardis, an opponent of these blowers and hope that he pushes for an outright ban sooner rather than later. It's the right thing to do.

Doug Hamilton

Los Gatos

Los Gatos could become another 'circuit board' site

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If we want our town to have the look and feel of a device-rich circuit board, by all means sign the [Albright Way] petition and vote "yes" if it gets that far.

If the "few" resisters prevail, we're still welcome to visit neighboring, if not for the grace of geology and some reasoned planning, surrounding circuit board sites. Enjoy the visit. The race for the most devices is surely on.

Evan Snyder

Los Gatos

Spector, Jensen respond to claims in initiative ads

Recently, sponsors of a petition now being circulated for signatures in Los Gatos have, without our knowledge, used our names in a newspaper ad and mass mailer. These acts have raised questions in the community as to whether we are publicly endorsing the Albright Way ballot measure.

In response, we wish to make it clear that we continue to support the action taken by the town council to approve an office development that includes space for Netflix. However, the project proposed in the initiative contains differences that were not approved by the council, including changes to the land use laws contained in our General Plan and zoning ordinances. Furthermore, neither of us, nor any other member of the town council, has taken a position on the proposed ballot initiative.

Councilwoman Barbara Spector

Vice Mayor Marcia Jensen

Los Gatos

Postal worker makes soldier's holiday brighter

Our lily white Los Gatos son is on his second U.S. military deployment in the Middle East and will not be home for Christmas. So when he asks for some of his favorite foods, we love to ship off his Los Gatos Meats beef jerky, salsa and BBQ sauce.

On Oct. 16th I mailed the box worth almost $125 at the Los Gatos Post Office. It never arrived. The only tracking for APO addresses is through the customs declaration form.

The day before Thanksgiving, I went back to the post office to try again with a box of decorations to make our son feel more festive, hoping it would arrive before Christmas. The postmistress, Kathleen Williams, explained how the October package had only made it to the San Jose sort facility and then disappeared. She asked me to file a Postal Inspection Service complaint. We expressed deep disappointment that anyone would steal from a guy fighting for his country.

Ms. Williams took my second package on Nov. 25 and promised to look out for it. On Dec. 2, we received a photo of our son, Tyler, surrounded by Christmas lights, a wreath and a silly musical Santa hat! Most importantly, he wore a huge grin!

Let everyone in this town know how lucky we are to have someone in charge at our local post office with the ability to perform miracles, even over a holiday weekend! Thank you, Kathleen Williams, for going above the call of duty!

Cindy De Santis

Cypress Way

After supporting council resident leery of initiative

Thank you for publishing the article on the "Petition circulates to take Albright Specific Plan to the voters" (Nov. 29). It provided information that was much different than what I was told by multiple petition gathers on multiple days at Kings Court Shopping Center.

I asked each gatherer how much it would cost the town of Los Gatos to hold the election if a sufficient number of residents signed the petition. Each time I was told there would be no cost or it would be minimal because the election was being held in any case. Your article indicated "the election would cost the town anywhere from $82,000 to $100,000."

I was also told that the initiative would do no more than allow the plan approved by the town council to proceed. I was not told that "if the specific plan is approved by voters, its provisions would remain in effect until June 2021."

I supported the town council's decision, but now I am leery of the initiative.

Terry Duryea

Los Gatos

Reader says 'Hip Hip Hooray for Postman Ray'

In a Dec. 3 published letter, John Disbrow wrote, "The Los Gatos post office (95030) is no longer providing reliable daily delivery" to his residence.

My experience with the Los Gatos Post Office is the opposite. For years now carrier Ray has driven Highway 17 for many miles and been consistently and professionally reliable.

The debate over the ability of Netflix to expand in Los Gatos seems to miss the point. It's about whether the residents of Los Gatos want Netflix to grow here, generating millions of dollars for our schools and hundreds of thousands for town services, and whether the project approved by the town council should be able to move forward.

Some opponents seem to be distracted by the fact that a supporter of the project is also trying to protect the historic character of some of our oldest neighborhoods; attacking her as if this is a bad thing. What makes Los Gatos special is both our strong fiscal and business climate, and our older neighborhoods. The town council and a large majority of residents recognize both are possible and strongly support both the Netflix proposal and protecting our historic neighborhoods.